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SOLUTIONS T 11TLVING IN NE«' S'ORI:, H E~ZPHASIS ON <br />OPER4TIONAL, ~GULATORY AND PLUGGLI'a~iIVNOVATIONS IIV THE <br />TULLY VALLEY BRL~IE FIELD <br />Kathleen F. Sanford <br />Division of Mineral Resources <br />New York State Department of Environmental Consen•ation <br />50 Rolf Raad, Room 290 <br />Albany, Nl' 12233-6500 <br />ABSTR4C'T <br />Five solution mining facilities in New York produce over two billion gallons of saturated brine, <br />or over 1.7 million short tons of salt, per year. Operators of these facilities had drilled 287 wells by the <br />end of 1995. They use the techniques of hydrofracturing, horizontal drilling, and roof padding to <br />develop stable cavems. When cavems become depleted, operators plug the wells in accordance ~~th <br />modern standards and regulations. They had plugged 165 of the 287 drilled wells by the end of 1995. <br />Solution mining has not caused damaging or catastrophic subsidence at any of the five facilities currently <br />active in New York, even though three of the five fields have been in operation since the late 1 fi00's. <br />Other solution salt miners drilled 264 additional solution mining wells in New fork between <br />1578 and 1985. The Tully Valley brine field in Onondaga Count}•, started by Solvay Process Company <br />in 1fifi8, was the site of 162 of these wells. Solvay Process Company and its successors used techniques <br />such as "simulated horizontal drilling," wild brining, and uncontrolled air padding to create <br />interconnected multi-well cavems with large, unsupponed roof spans. Sinkholes and widespread <br />subsidence resulted. No well plugging program vas in place until ordered by the State in the ]ate 1980's. <br />The age and condition of the wells in Tully Valley necessitated an innovative approach to well plugging, <br />from both the regulatory and operational perspectives. <br />Between 1989 and 199, AlliedSignal Corporation, Solvay Process Compan}•'s ultimate successor, <br />plugged 167 wells in Tully Valley. This total includes 158 of the solution mining wells drilled in the <br />valley, along with ahundred-}'ear-old exploratory ~ti•ell, seven coreholes, and a well drilled but never used <br />for fluid disposal. Four solution mining wells and another old exploratory well could not be plugged <br />either because they could not be located or could no; be safely accessed. Plugging contractors, company <br />engineers, and an on-site State inspector developed plugging methods in the field as downhole conditions <br />varied from well to well. <br />.4CK\ OR'LED GEMENT <br />The author is extremely grateful for the tt•ork of Joseph l'arosz, the on-site State inspector <br />(environmental monitor) for the Tull}• Valley well plugging project. The sections of this paper on Tully <br />Valle}' «ell plugging activities could not have been rtiTitten «ithout heav}• reliance on his thorough and <br />detailed 1994 and 1995 reports on all aspects of the plugging work. <br /> <br />?pg <br /> <br />